Commonly understood today as a set of beliefs or practices in conflict with prevailing dogma, the word "heresy" derives from the Greek "heiresis," meaning “choice.” In classical antiquity, the term also signified a period during which a young philosopher would examine various schools of thought in order to determine his future way of life.

These inflections neatly capture the ambitions and attitudes held by the architects at the center of this presentation. Some had grown weary with what they viewed as the stale orthodoxies of the establishment, and saw their work as a distinct challenge to the status quo. Others were less strident, and experimented with a diverse range of historical sources as potential platforms from which to develop their individual idioms. Others still struck out in bold new directions, drawing inspiration and techniques from the art world, literature, and other sources.

Such wide-ranging activities defy any attempt to portray these architects as members of a coherent group or “L.A. School.” More correctly, the Architecture Gallery constitutes one of many loose, temporary confederacies into which these architects entered during their formative years. Here, the heretics found strength in numbers, and the impact of their efforts was felt across Los Angeles and around the world.

Gathering an array of original drawings, models, photographic documentation, video recordings, and commentary alongside new assessment by current scholars, A Confederacy of Heretics aims neither to canonize the participating architects nor to consecrate their unorthodox activities. Rather, the exhibition re-examines the early work of some of Los Angeles' most well-known architects in a contemporary context, charts the development of their most potent design techniques, and documents a crucial turning point in Los Angeles architecture, a time when Angeleno architecture culture shifted from producing local variations on imported themes to exporting highly original disciplinatory innovations to a global audience.

Taken together, the exhibition, symposium, and catalog that comprise A Confederacy of Heretics offer a unique lens through which to analyze a pivotal moment in the development of late 20th century architecture.

A Confederacy of Heretics: The Architecture Gallery, Venice, 1979 is part of Pacific Standard Time Presents: Modern Architecture in L.A., an initiative celebrating Southern California's lasting impact on modern architecture through exhibitions and programs organized by seventeen area cultural institutions from April through July 2013.

Major support for A Confederacy of Heretics: The Architecture Gallery, Venice, 1979 is provided by the Getty Foundation.

Additional support is provided by the Graham Foundation for Advanced Studies in the Fine Arts, The Vinyl Institute and the Pasadena Art Alliance. The publication is underwritten in part by Furthermore: a program of the J. M. Kaplan Fund. Archival images provided by the Los Angeles Times Photographic Archive, Department of Special Collections, Charles E. Young Research Library, UCLA.

SCI-Arc exhibitions and public programs are made possible in part by a grant from the City of Los Angeles, Department of Cultural Affairs